Ask Me Anything
by KittyCasMeow
Summary: Castiel Novak, famous writer and actor has posted his phone number on social media to ask him anything at all about the series finale of his hit book and show, Archangels. When Dean sends him a text asking a question, he never thought he'd find himself in an anonymous friendship with the famous actor. What happens when it turns out they're closer to each other than they thought?
1. Archangels

_Author's Note: I know I'm terrible for starting another story without finishing my others, but I've had this gem **already finished** on my old laptop that I stumbled across so I thought hey, why not clean it up and post it while you guys wait for me to work on the other ones. This idea I had a few years back when Misha Collins posted his phone number on Twitter, so I thought - hey what the heck? Why not have some fun with it! 3-6-2018_

 **Ask Me Anything**

 **Archangels**

"Kali Sharma, and we are here _live_ with the Novak Brothers to talk about their show **Archangels,** whose series finale aired _last night._ So, if you haven't tuned in to the last episode prepare yourself for spoilers." The TV hostess leaned forward over her desk and smiled at the Novak clan seated beside her on gray squishy arm chairs before returning her gaze to the camera and audience. "For anyone who hasn't seen the show, **Archangels** is based off a book series written by one of the actors himself, Castiel Novak. The show follows four archangels – (twins) Michael and Lucifer, Gabriel and Balthazar – and little fledgling Castiel and his curiosity for humanity." She leisurely slumped back in her seat. "So Castiel, I mean the show – holy cow -," The audience erupted in a loud cheer and the brothers chuckled lightly at the sound. "Obviously the fan base for **Archangels** is like insane. Now, when they approached you about turning your book series into a TV series, did you ever expect it to be so popular?"

"Well, not entirely." The sound of his low rumbling voice reverberating through his chest was enough to make the crowd go wild. The young heartthrob threw his head back and laughed causing the audience to scream even louder. Blush tainted his pale high cheek bones and his piercingly blue eyes sparkled brightly. He ran a hand through his tousled black hair and smirked cheekily.

Michael, nearly identical to Castiel but several years older and with pale gray eyes threw his hands up in the air. "See?!" The crowd started to die down and he laughed at Kali. "This is why we can't take him anywhere. Jesus Christ!" Everyone laughed in response.

"It's true though!" Gabriel interjected. "Every time we do a damn interview with Castiel everyone swoons! It's ridiculous!"

Castiel shifted in his seat. "I think swoons is a bit much." He rolled his eyes and adjusted his messy blue tie. "But ah anyway, yeah, I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of the TV series. I don't think when we started it we expected it to take off like it did."

Kali rested her chin in her folded hands. "So, you were sixteen when you wrote the first book of the **Archangels** series. How did you come up with **Archangels** at such a young age?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It really isn't impressive when you name and base all the characters on yourself and your siblings."

Another laugh resounded through the crowd. Kali leaned forward again. "So, let's talk about the series finale!" The audience cheered loudly. "So you guys spent five years filming the series. Five years for us to watch Castiel," She looked at him pointedly. "Both the angel and the real life human grow from a 17 year old naïve fledging trying to find his place in heaven and trying to understand humanity to a young 22 year old soldier eager to prove himself to his family and his Garrison." She chuckled. "It's been quite a ride, hasn't it?"

Castiel laughed. "You've got no idea."

"And I can't _believe_ that you've ended your book and the series on a _cliffhanger_ of all things!" Kali exclaimed. She shook her head disbelievingly. "People must be going nuts on you all the time! Let's talk about the ending! What was going through your mind?"

The youngest Novak smirked knowingly. "Well, I wanted to end the series with each of the angels kind of drifting apart you know?" He shrugged. "I thought it was part of life. When my brothers all left home while I was still in high school we sort of… lost touch. And it took this show for us to find each other again."

Kali nodded professionally. "So there's potential for more?" She smiled excitedly. "I'm sure the fans _love_ to hear that." She leaned forward. "So where are all the angels at now?"

Balthazar, a middle brother with stylish blonde hair, playful blue eyes and tanned skin chuckled. He crossed one of his white washed jeans over the other and tugged at his black V neck. "Well since daddy dearest is MIA, Balthazar has decided to take it upon himself to ditch heaven and sort of enjoy-" He waved one hand with a bit of finesse. "-let's say the finer things of humanity." He chuckled airily. "Things such as alcohol, drugs and ménage tois – or I guess -," He furrowed his eyebrow and glanced at his older brother, Michael. "What you call a 12 way?"

Michael blinked. "Gross, Balthazar, you'd call it gross." The audience laughed and the dark-haired Novak rolled his eyes. He looked completely different from Balthazar with jet black hair, kind gray eyes and a larger more muscular build. He was wearing a gray suit with a maroon tie to compliment his light eyes. "Michael, however has taken it upon himself to be his Father's right hand man." He shrugged and gave the youngest brother a questioning look. "I'm not sure what Castiel is thinking, but I like to think that Michael would like to take over in his Father's absence." He shifted his look to Lucifer. "And I think he feels… _lost_ about his twin brother Lucifer."

Michael's real life twin brother Lucifer, who looked nothing like him smirked friskily. His sandy blonde hair was messy, his blue eyes vicious but playful. He was wearing a black button up with a dark brown leather jacket and dark jeans. He crossed his ankle over his knee bouncing his boot. "Yeah, it was quite interesting having Cassie cast Lucifer to a cage in hell. Filming those scenes were hard." The twins shared a look. "The scene where Father cast Lucifer into hell and Michael broke down, it was hard to watch Michael lose it. And the second they yelled cut I fell to my knees in front of him and we just started sobbing. It was the most intense experience of my life."

The air grew serious and Gabriel shifted in his seat folding his legs into a cross-legged position underneath him. He was wearing a graphic Hulk tee with ripped jeans and a black leather jacket. His blonde hair fell into his hazel eyes and he pushed it away. "It has been an incredible experience getting to act with my brothers. And although it's definitely had its powerful moments we've definitely had a lot of fun too! I think that's why Cassie chose to make Gabriel a Trickster angel." He glanced at the youngest Novak. "To relieve some tension." He shrugged. "But I think Gabriel's taking an earthly pleasures tour just like Balthazar." They all laughed.

Kali continued, keeping the focus on point. "And Castiel? Why did you make your character stay in heaven?"

A small uncomfortable look danced across Castiel's face before it changed impassive and professional. "Castiel is the youngest angel, and he spent the entire series not only trying to prove himself to his brothers and Father, but to the other angels around him as well. So once Father gave him control over his own Garrison I think he's dead set on doing his best. Also the jump from part one of the series finale to part two is a gap of several centuries so when Michael approaches him and his Garrison and sends Castiel on a mission, he gladly accepts."

Kali smiled. "And what was his mission again?"

"To pull the Righteous Man from Perdition." He answered smugly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Do we know who the Righteous Man is?"

Castiel's smile grew wider. "Of course not. That's what makes it a cliffhanger."

The audience cheered enthusiastically and Kali responded by rolling her eyes playfully. "So, have you guys been getting bombarded with questions lately?"

Gabriel responded first. "Not nearly as much as Cassie dearest."

Castiel cleared his throat. "I've been getting slammed with messages on all of my social media accounts as well as physical mail being sent to the studio regarding questions about **Archangels**." He glanced around at his siblings. "So my brothers and I have thought of a solution. On all my social media accounts tomorrow at 9AM – west coast time – I will be posting a special phone number you can text your questions to and the number will be active for _three_ days. So as of tomorrow please," Castiel crossed his arms over his suit clad chest. "Ask me anything."


	2. Captain America vs Iron Man

_Author's Note: Everytime I revise a chapter from my other stories, I'll add a new one to this one. Working my hardest! Stay with me guys! I'm proud of all the positive feedback this has already had! 3-7-2018_

 **Captain America vs. Iron Man**

Dean gave a bemused chuckled at Sam's latest text. It was a screenshot of Castiel Novak's latest Twitter post with a phone number, followed by a text that said, ' _I texted him this morning asking him if he had a sequel planned about Castiel and the Righteous Man.'_ Dean's had rolled his eyes at that. Leave it to Sam to get straight to the point. Dean was a fan of **Archangels** too, but texting one of the actors like a teenage fan girl – he snorted, _come on, Sam._

He took a long pull from his beer as he sat slumped on Benny's couch, the Avengers playing in the background. "I'm just saying Garth, it's obvious that Iron Man won Civil War!"

Dean slipped his phone back into his pocket. "I don't know, I'm with Garth on this one." Benny raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Come on! He turns off Iron Man's chest reactor thing with his shield and he walks away. So what if he didn't kill him? Doesn't mean he didn't win!"

Ash rolled his eyes. "Benny's right guys. Iron Man makes valid points about having people with powers register. Plus, Iron Man had the last burn."

Garth huffed. "Well that's two versus two. So I guess we'll never know." There was a lull in conversation as they continued to watch the movie. "You know we really should consider turning our little group into an odd number. We need to make more friends."

Ash snorted. "No way! Cause whatever girls you guys bring here are always gonna side with _you._ What we _really_ need is some kind of impartial judge."

Benny chuckled. "What do you suggest? We go out on the street and ask a stranger?"

Dean's eyes lit up, an idea pulling itself forward, a small smile playing at his lips and he cleared his throat trying to sound as casual as he could. "We could always text a random number." He said nonchalantly. He felt three pairs of eyes on him, but he kept his gaze on the movie. "You know, text a random number with our question and see what they say."

Benny raised an eyebrow from his squishy armchair beside Dean. "You really wanna text a stranger?"

Dean shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?" He looked at Garth sitting beside him on the couch. "They don't answer?"

Ash frowned. "Alright fine, text a random number."

Dean bit his lip and brought up Sam's screenshot, eyes skimming Castiel's number and entering it into the message section of his phone. Okay, so maybe the number wasn't entirely random, but still. Castiel was technically a stranger, so that counted, right? He stared anxiously at the blank message screen. _Quit being ridiculous Winchester._ He tried to psych himself up. _It's just a text to a famous guy who probably won't even respond._ That thought sated his restlessness and he typed out a message, looking it over three times before sending it.

 _Hey quick question – who do you think won Captain America: Civil War? Iron Man or Captain America?_

He rubbed his lips together. Okay, simple. Quick. To the point. And if he didn't respond – well, that was expected. He shoved his phone in his pocket. "Alright there." He caught the attention of the other mechanics. "Now we just wait and see what our stranger has to say."

Garth furrowed his brows. "What if they don't respond?"

Dean took another pull from his beer. "We just text a different number I guess."

 **-[]-**

Castiel was sprawled out on Michael's couch, face squished into the brown spongy armrest. He was drooling on the surface, soft snores leaving his partially opened mouth and one leg swinging off the side. He rolled over onto his back. "Alright Castiel, it's your turn again."

The soft thud of his cell phone being dropped on his ribs startled him awake. "Hm – wha?" He sat up, the phone vibrating a few times and falling into his lap. He furrowed his eyebrows trying to gather his thoughts.

"I said it's _your_ turn. I've been answering texts for the last hour." He sighed and dropped heavily at Castiel's feet. He looked down at his phone and tried not to let the 32 text messages dishearten him. "You're right." He looked up at Michael. "Most of them are asking if you're doing a sequel about the Righteous Man." He gave a slight smile. "And a few asking if you or any of your brothers would be willing to donate sperm."

Castiel groaned and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. Michael settled in next to him sitting cross-legged on the couch with a bag of chips. He turned on the TV and started flipping through channels and answering messages.

 _I luv ur show! R u doing a sequel._ He sighed. **A sequel is not currently in the make, but doesn't mean it's not on the way!**

 _Just wanted to tell you that you're hot! :)_ He smiled. **Thank you for your concern, but I find that my current temperature is actually quite cool.** He answered sarcastically.

He replied to a few more before placing the phone in his lap and reaching for some of Michael's chips. His eyes were trained on the TV. "Anything interesting?"

Castiel just shrugged and answered another. "Mostly just asking about a sequel."

Michael waited a beat before he asked, " _Are_ you making another sequel?"

He held his phone slackly in his lap as he watched Dr. Sexy MD make out with a nurse in the supply closet. "To be truthful, I find that I'm quite tired of acting." He glanced over at Michael. "But I'd like to write another book perhaps…" He bit his lip a little fearful of admitting what he'd been planning for the last few months to someone. "I was thinking about writing a book about the Righteous Man."

He had the eldest Novak's full attention. "Really now?"

He shrugged and picked at his phone case. "Yeah, I was thinking it'd be interesting to give a little background to the Righteous Man." He looked up at Michael passionately. "I want to create a character with so much depth and raw emotion. I want him to be the Righteous Man, but I want him to feel unworthy, you know?" He shook his head. "And not because he's this incredible selfless god fearing man, but because he's this angry, bitter alcoholic." He threw his hands up losing himself in his thought process. "I want him to be thrust into this world where he has to save people's lives because it's his job. He needs this rush of adrenaline, these close encounters with death just to feel alive." He took a deep steadying breath. "I want him to have to face his demons on a daily basis – so often that when an angel comes to save his life he almost doesn't believe that he's real."

Michael blinked a couple of times. "Wow, bro. That's intense."

Castiel's hands dropped to his lap and the vibrations from his phone broke him away from his trance. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "No it's good. It's _really_ good." He shrugged. "Besides, I think the rest of us could use a break from acting." He watched as Dr. Sexy started to perform open heart surgery. "I'd like to go back to being a surgeon if I'm being honest." Castiel gave him an apologetic look. "Don't look at me like that Castiel, I'm grateful for the opportunity you gave us. If it weren't for you, we all wouldn't have reconnected like we did." He looked away wistfully. "I almost lost Luke." He gave him a watery eyed smile. "And you gave him back to me." He reached out and squeezed Castiel's shoulder tightly. "Thank you." They shared an intense gaze before Michael ruffled his hair and pushed his head away. "Alright dork, get back to answering those messages."

Castiel just smiled and looked down before his face flipped to a frown. "Augh. This person just asked why Castiel never got laid."

Michael furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully at the TV. "Wait why _didn't_ you get laid?" Castiel gave him a pointed look. "What? I'm serious! You had Gabriel fall in love with that Hindu goddess Kali, Balthazar had a fling with the reaper who collected souls off the Titanic." He shrugged. "And Lucifer has his bad bitch demon girlfriend Lilith in hell." He looked over at Castiel and wiggled his eyebrows. "And I got to have that one night stand with Naomi." He raised his eyebrows. "All you ever did was make out with Anna before they cast her out of the Garrison."

Castiel's face puckered at the thought. "Yeah, that was uncomfortable." He just shrugged noncommittally. "I just figured Castiel never had occasion."

Michael reached out and clutched his shoulder tightly. "You _have_ had sex before, right Cassie?"

He swatted his hand away. "Yes, I have!" He rolled his eyes and went back to his phone. He let out a light noise of surprise.

"What is it?"

An intrigued smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Nothing, just another question."

 **-[]-**

An hour and a half later, and another two beers later Dean was pleasantly buzzed. Ash and Garth were sharing an armchair in order to share their bag of Duritos easier and laughing loudly at a scene from Hot Rod. Dean was laying upside down, torso on the floor and legs swung up on the couch throwing popcorn into Benny's mouth. "Dammit Benny, catch _one_!"

The Cajun grunted. "I would brotha' if you didn't throw like shit!" Garth slid out of the chair and onto the floor leaning over the coffee table to watch the arguing.

"Hey! It's not my fault you can't catch. Who knew the only thing you could do with your big mouth was run it?" He snapped back holding up his hand. "Come on, one more time." Benny leaned forward just in time to nab the buttery piece in the air.

All four men through up their hands victoriously and cheered. **"AAAAAYYYYEEEE!"**

Garth leaned back with chip in his hand. "Alright Ash, your turn!"

He threw up his hands. "Wait no Garth-," It hit him in the forehead leaving cheesy residue on his forehead. Benny and Dean burst into laughter. "Dammit Garth," He dusted off his skin. "Throwing a Durito doesn't work like throwing popcorn."

Garth nodded understandingly. "Ah! Your right. Math."

Ash scoffed. "Math, what does Math have to do with it?"

He shrugged and gave him a drunk grin. "I dunno."

Dean was still laughing when his phone let out a sharp **ding**! He pulled it out of his pocket watching amusedly as Ash tried to explain that Duritos were triangles and mouths were circles to Garth's protests. "I don't know Ash, I feel like mouths are more ovular in shape or maybe," He opened and closed his mouth in several different ways. "Roundly rectangular?"

He slid open his phone, smile still on his face when his heart stopped. His smile fell and he swallowed his suddenly dry throat. He placed his beer on the floor and shuffled up to a cross-legged position. "Dean?" He ignored Garth and tore his eyes away from the number at the top to finally read the reply beneath his original message.

 **Neither. Both of them have experienced a loss. Iron Man is crushed is that the Avengers have broken up and Cap has pretty much lost his friend forever. It's obvious that their bond has been broken – potentially forever. So I'd have to say neither of them has won.**

Dean read it again. And then a third time. He was part way through time number four, trying to process Castiel's answer when a harsh, " _Dean!_ " – pushed him out of his thoughts.

His head snapped up. "Hm?"

Benny caught his gaze. "You alright man? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

He cleared his throat and gave them an shit-eating grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. We just got a reply from our impartial mystery judge."

Ash laughed. "You serious?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah!"

He held out his phone and Garth grabbed it. "Let me see that!" He read the text out loud and then let out a low whistle. "Well damn, this person's deep."

Benny chuckled. "No kidding. I think that puts our arguments to rest. I'm gonna get some snacks from the kitchen." The other two got up and followed him inside leaving Dean to stare at his phone again. Should he say something back? He furrowed his eyebrows. He should, right? A polite 'thank you' or 'amazing answer' or maybe 'hey I'm secretly hardcore fan-girling over you'. He shook his thoughts away. Something. He needed to say something.

 **-[]-**

Castiel ignored the messages coming through and stared at the reply he'd just sent, satisfied with his answer. He was a little embarrassed to say a small part of him hoped the stranger would reply, but he bit his lip trying to fight his eager smile. He pushed away the thought and was about to go through more messages when a text bubble popped up.

 _Thanks man, you really saved an intense argument tonight. Made all of us shut the hell up._

Castiel replied swiftly without thinking. **I'm glad to be of assistance. Please, feel free to ask for my help for any future arguments (:**

His heart dropped. Was that too eager? Too forward? The stranger's reply came just as fast.

 _Thanks I will. :)_


	3. Ninja Turtles

_Author's Note: This chapter is a little bit shorter than the last. The next chapter will be the third and final day that Castiel's number is working and then after that the story will flow much quicker! Thanks for all the reviews! 3-12-2018_

 **Ninja Turtles**

It was a little after 10AM on Saturday when Castiel's eyes fluttered open. He sunk a little further into his cluster of blankets in Michael and Lucifer's guest room. It felt so good to sleep in for nearly the first time in five years. He pulled the covers up, so they rested just beneath his chin and closed his eyes contently. Maybe taking a big step away from the limelight to try and live as much of a normal life as he possibly could would be nice. He looked over at his brothers' clock once more. **10:24AM**. He poked his hands out of his blanket nest and ran his hands over his face feeling the scruff of a few days already forming on his chin and cheeks.

He groaned realizing he had to take a much-needed shower. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He probably had a million messages. He blindly reached for the nightstand, his hand splayed out over the wood. He furrowed his eyebrows. Where was his-? His eyes widened and he wrenched the blankets off and sat at the edge of the bed. He stumbled out of bed in a pair of gray tight fitted sweats and a black AC/DC band tee. He bolted into the kitchen and stopped.

Michael was standing at the stove and he turned to face Castiel, a spatula clutched in his right hand. Lucifer was sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee and scrolling through Castiel's phone. He looked up, eyes twinkling playfully. "Morning!" He gestured to Michael at the stove with his phone. "Michael's making pancakes. You want any?"

He relaxed and slid into the seat across from Lucifer and blinked at Michael before replying. "Yes please." Michael turned back to the stove and added some extra batter. Castiel cleared his throat and watched Lucifer text a reply to a message. "So – ah – any interesting questions?" Lucifer's eyes flicked up curiously.

Castiel tried to hold back his eagerness. Luc just shrugged. "Nothing interesting. A few girls _and_ guys asking to screw you, asking what it was like to film a show with your brothers -," He frowned, eyes still trained on the phone. "-a couple people asked about your creative process when it comes to writing." He smirked. "A couple people asked if you were seeing Anna Milton-," Michael and Castiel let out joint noises of disgust. He gave a sympathetic look. "Don't worry! I squashed that rumor." He shrugged. "Aside from that, nothing interesting." He held out his phone back to him. "Care to take over?"

Castiel took his phone back. "Thank you for helping."

Lucifer chuckled. "No problem."

Castiel took a second to scroll back through the messages to make sure he didn't miss any questions from his mystery texter. He listened halfheartedly to the absent morning chatter between Lucifer and Michael. "So, how's hell's biggest demon bitch?"

Luc rolled his eyes. "Come on Mike, she's not that bad."

The youngest Novak furrowed his eyebrows, joining in the conversation without bothering to look up from his phone. "There _is_ a reason why I cast Lilith as hell's biggest bitch."

Michael chuckled and brought over a plate of pancakes and the egg pan, placing them on the table before retrieving the bacon. The brothers started stacking food on their empty plates. Lucifer sighed. "Well, I guess you guys are right, she is kind of a bitch." They chuckled. "But I'm not trying to marry her or anything, I'm just trying to have some fun." Castiel and Michael shared a look and rolled their eyes. Lucifer snorted. "Please, just because you guys don't' know how to have any fun and are terrible at dating."

"Hey!" The two dark haired Novaks protested in unison. Michael tapped his fork a few times on his plate. "I'll have you guys know that I just asked Rachel out the other day." He rubbed his lips together and kept his gaze firmly planted on the plate in front of him.

Castiel abandoned his phone. "What?" Michael said nothing. "You finally asked her out?"

His eyes flicked up sheepishly. "Yeah, we're going out tonight."

Castiel's phone went off again and he looked down. He opened the messages and his heart leapt to his throat when he noticed the number. He quickly added it to his phone under _Mystery Texter_.

 _Got another one for you, dude._ Castuel furrowed his eyebrows. The way they texted made it seem that his mystery person was a man. _Marvel or DC?_ He smirked.

"Cassie?"

He bit his lip. He should write something clever, something witty.

"Cassie?"

Well, he should definitely wait before texting. He didn't want to seem too eager.

" _Castiel!"_

He snapped his head up. "Wha-what?" He pulled his phone to his chest, cowering slightly at Lucifer.

Michael furrowed his eyebrows in concern and Lucifer gave him a searching look before speaking again. "I was just asking if you were gonna start dating again."

Castiel was blushing furiously. He gripped his phone tightly in his lap underneath the table like a suspicious teenager. "Oh uhm-," He fumbled nervously. "I guess so."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "What's gotten into you?"

He shoved his phone in the pocket of his sweatpants and slid out from his chair. "N-nothing." He carried his dirty dishes to the sink. "I'm – uh – gonna go get ready for the day." He gave Michael a light smile. "Thank you for breakfast."

 **-[]-**

 **I'd have to go with Marvel. Although DC has put some quality films out such as the Dark Knight, I find that Marvel is consistent.**

Dean smiled to himself. God, Castiel was already amazing. He read the text aloud and the group murmured its consent at the reply. The four guys were seated at the bar at Ellen's enjoying their burgers – solution to the mild hangover from the night before. Jo strolled up to the guys and leaned forward over the bar, revealing her lowcut black tank top. "So, I don't get it." She pouted as she pushed her chest a little farther forward. "You just text some random number and they answer all your questions and solve all your arguments?" Dean just grunted in affirmation. She huffed at being ignored and crossed her arms underneath her chest. "Why can't you just ask me?"

Ash just leaned forward, resting his head in his palm. "Well sugar, I wouldn't mind you solving some of _my_ problems."

She just gave him an uninterested look before trying again to catch Dean's attention. "What about you, Dean?"

"Hm?" He was mid-text before he finally flicked his gaze up. He blinked a few times trying to remember why she was talking to him before he just gave a polite smile. "Oh, no thank you. I don't need a refill. In fact, I'm gonna get going." He tossed a few bills on the table and turned away. "Thanks Jo!" He nodded to the guys, hand still open on his half-written message to Castiel. "See you guys on Monday!"

Jo looked at them baffled as he sauntered away. "What the hell?"

The rest of Dean's Saturday afternoon he spent working on his car and texting Castiel in between. They fell into an easy rhythm of asking each other simple impersonal questions and Dean found that he quite liked the ridiculous way that Castiel's mind worked. They talked about the best actor to ever play Batman, who the strongest Super Saiyan was – that one sparked some disagreements –

 **Goku. Is that even a question?**

 _Come on, if Vegeta had more faith in himself he'd kick Goku's ass._

 **Only if Goku would let him. Besides, if we really want to stretch that one I think Bardock would have been the strongest Saiyan.**

 _What the hell, Bardock? This I gotta hear._

Then there was of course the heated discussion.

 **Agree to disagree. I think Leonardo is definitely the leader of the Ninja Turtles.**

Dean had snorted at that. _But Raphael is the oldest! He just goes in and gets shit done!_

 **Yes, but Leonardo is sensible. Raphael may be the oldest, but Leo bears the burden of all the brothers.**

 _Raph is so bad ass though! And he almost always throws the first punch!_

Dean was working underneath the Impala, changing the oil in the last rays of sunshine. He had just finished and slid out from underneath his baby and read the message three more times before fully registering Castiel's text.

 **What do you think would happen if the Ninja Turtles went to college?**

This one baffled him. _If they went to college? I can honestly tell you that the thought has never crossed my mind._

He wiped his hands on his jeans and shut his garage heading into his old childhood home. He walked upstairs hesitating at Sammy's old bedroom. He frowned when he remembered that the last time he'd seen his little brother was over six months ago. He walked down the familiar hallways trying desperately to cling to the happy memories that seemed so much harder to do now that his brother was gone. He entered the shower and let the warm water wash over him ridding himself of the dirt and grime of spending the last few hours fixing and washing the Impala. He tried not to let his thoughts tread into dark territories, but he found it harder to search for happy memories without Sam being there to remind him it was worth it.

He toweled off and changed into a pair of sweats before heading downstairs into the kitchen, eyes cast downward as he passed his parent's old bedroom. He rifled through the refrigerator before pulling out cold pizza from the night before and shoving it into the microwave. He started sipping absently on the beer as he checked his phone again.

 **Ah, well I've thought about it enough times that it keeps me up at night. The dean would ban pizza from the campus and they'd have to work together with Shredder to get it back.**

Dean palmed his face and let out a roar of laughter. _Jesus Cas, you're something else._

Over the course of the next thirty minutes and three beers later Dean admitted to having a late dinner – the most personal he'd gotten so far, complaining that reheating pizza was always rather chewy. **Did you put a mug of hot water in the microwave with your pizza? It keeps it from being chewy.**

Dean blinked a couple of times. _God. Do you just know everything?_

Dean placed his dirty dishes in the dishwasher and dragged his tired eyes upstairs and into his fluffy queen sized bed. He crawled into his bed and pulled the covers up. **I've had a lot of reheated pizza, believe it or not being famous isn't always all five star restaurants.**

 _I would have never guessed._ Maybe it was the three beers, or possibly his sleepy state of mind that compelled him to send one last message. _I like texting you, Cas._ His eyes fluttered closed and he fell asleep before he could read his reply.

 **I like texting you too.**


	4. 2:02AM

_Author's Note: Forgot to add this and just added it to the chapter. **But-** after this chapter we'll see more Dean and Cas interaction. It's a bit of a slow burn and possibly a little angsty later on, but I'd like for you guys to stay with me! (: I think you'll really enjoy this! Read on people! Thanks for your reviews! They mean a lot to me! 3-27-2018_

 **2:02AM**

Castiel lifted a hand to run through his perfectly groomed hair before Luc's hand shot up and clutched his wrist to stop him. He blinked. "Don't mess up your hair, Cassie." He said through gritted teeth. "Uncle Zach, will kill you…" He muttered.

It was Sunday afternoon and the Novak brothers were sitting in a conference room at their Uncle Zachariah's agency. "Alright boys, let's get right down to business." Castiel's phone vibrated and he went to reach for it. "Castiel." He froze, his phone held loosely in his right hand. "Please save those silly little fan questions for after our meeting."

He slowly eased his phone into his lap. "Yes, sir."

It vibrated again, and he looked straight ahead showing his full attention to his uncle. "Now," He clasped his hands together firmly and looked around at the brothers. "Let's go over your itinerary for your final tour." He turned his back to the boys and clicked the mouse in his hand to move onto the first slide containing the dates and cities for each Archangels Con. Castiel bit back a groan. There were at least 16 cities. He ran a hand over his face tiredly. That meant at _least_ 16 weeks. His phone vibrated again, and he squeezed it tightly to muffle the noise. "We're gonna start far on the east coast in New York first-," He started to tune out his uncle as he listed off flights, hotel rooms, venues and cities. He pulled his hand away from his phone and unlocked it thumbing through some messages until he came across one from his mystery texter.

 _You ever notice when you say forward or backwards – your lips move in those directions?_

The corners of Castiel's lips quirked up slightly and he forced back his smile glancing up at his uncle. He mouthed the words a few times, eyes widening in sudden realization. He bent down to reply when his uncle's voice broke him away from his train of thought. "I will _not_ have a repeat of what happened in Tampa two years ago, Gabriel." The brothers all shifted. "The money and credibility that you cost us after that debacle was _insurmountable._ "

Gabe scoffed. "Please. Uncle Zach, it was a _dare_. The fans _loved_ it."

Zachariah took two quick strides to the conference table, shadowing over the projector and slammed his hands on either side. "Your ' _dare_ ' created a stir of rumors that you were a _homosexual_ , Gabriel." His voice was low and threatening.

The Novak rolled his eyes. "Come on!" He protested. "People spread rumors about _everything_ we do. There's constant rumors flying around about Lilith and Luc." He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms angrily. "All I did was parade around in underwear and let the fans take pictures." The rest of the Novaks tried to stifle their laughter at the memory. "It's not like I did it on stage either! It was in the privacy of my own room." He rubbed his lips together to hide his smile. "At the post-con party, I had in my room." He added as an afterthought.

Zachariah narrowed his eyes. "You wore _women's_ underwear." The levy broke, and the brothers burst into a fit of laughter. "I don't find it funny." He spat. "He looked like a-like a queer!" He stammered furiously. "People thought he liked men-,"

Gabriel threw his hands up in the air. "I _do_ like men. Just as much as I like women uncle Zach. I don't get why you can't-,"

"Because you play an _angel_ on TV. You can't like men." He spat disgustedly. "Keep your nasty habits to yourself. I will not have you sully the Novak name." He stood up and straightened up his tie pridefully. "You were born into a family of actors, and brilliant ones I might add." The brothers glared at Castiel and he shot them a knowing exasperated look. They'd had this argument before. Their Uncle Zach, known for his role in a movie about ghosts, was perfect for the role of one of heaven's bigger assholes. "Now, if we could go back to the itinerary…" He drawled on and Castiel pulled his phone away from his lap to reread his mystery texter's message.

 **How much alcohol have you had today?** He glanced at the time on his phone. It was only 4PM here, he wondered what time it was for Mystery Texter. His facts of his unknown texting friend were limited and a mild part of him was concerned about the sort of person he was communicating with. In the lulls between their conversation he found himself fantasizing about the person behind the phone. It was almost certainly a man. Texting cues, slang and general conversation topics seemed male in nature – of course with Castiel's limited amount of normal social interaction he could be entirely wrong. And although the person on the other end _seemed_ older, Castiel didn't want to land himself in some sort of accidental underage scandal. So this? This seemed like a perfect Segway into at least figuring out some sort of age. His phone vibrated breaking him out of his thoughts.

 _You're a sneaky S.O.B. – trying to figure out my age, huh?_ Castiel felt his neck grow hot and he hoped his brothers hadn't noticed his sudden blush. Another text chimed in.

 _And no Cas, I'm not drunk on a Sunday. My Pops raised me right – Sundays are for Hangovers not for drinkin'._

He smiled to himself. Luc elbowed him in the ribs and he shoved his phone quickly into his lap and pulled his gaze back to his uncle. "Now it is vital that we discuss the layouts of each Archangels Con." The slide flicked over to a rough schedule of each day. "Every event will start the same. We'll open the doors promptly at 10AM giving fans the opportunity to buy any kind of merchandise and take as many pictures as they'd like. They'll be food vendors all over the buildings in every city, so after lunch at 1PM they will start a Q & A with the team of writers and producers." His eyes fell to the youngest Novak. "So Castiel, you'll need to be there for that." The slide flicked away again. "At 3PM, we will turn the session over to the five of you. 5PM, we'll break for a brief dinner and then at 6PM the five of you will return until 8PM, where Castiel will answer questions about the book series." He clicked the projector off and clasped his hands together. "Now," They felt him tense up. "I don't need to remind you how important it is that we stray away from personal questions." He frowned. "It seems your father has raised you all to be a bit of loose cannons and I encourage you to keep your _unnatural urges_ -," His eyes flicked briefly between Gabriel and Castiel. "-to yourselves." He plastered on a false smile. "You are dismissed."

 **-[]-**

"So… you won't be coming home for spring break?" Dean tried sound as casually as he could, forcing the disappointment out of his voice. He switched his cell phone to his left ear and rolled over on his side, pulling the blankets up to his shoulder.

He heard Sam shuffling on the other side, Dean furrowed his eyebrows. The silence before Sammy answered was a just a moment _too_ long. _"Ah no – I'm not gonna make it. I've got midterms and stuff coming up and I just started a new job at a coffee shop…"_ He cleared his throat. _"I just don't think I can ask for the time off._ "

Dean knew him well enough to know that was a lie. And Dean couldn't blame him. He hated being in this stupid town just as much as Sam hated visiting. The sad knowing looks… He shook his head. "That's alright Sammy, you gotta focus on school." Sammy always came first. He reminded himself. That's why he was working his ass off back in Kansas. Kid was going to Stanford to be a lawyer, and Dean would be damned if anything was gonna take him off track. "I need you to graduate and be a big shot lawyer. I plan on getting in a lot of trouble."

Sam snorted. _"Dean…"_ His tone was teasing and the older Winchester smiled. He gasped. " _Shit, isn't it almost like two in the morning there? Dude go to bed! You got work at Bobby's tomorrow!"_

Dean laughed. "Alright, alright **Nag** atha Christy! I got it. I'm going to bed! I'll talk to you soon Sammy."

" _Night Dean."_

He pulled the phone away from his ear and checked the time. **1:35AM,** that meant that in just 25 minutes, Castiel's number would go dead. His stomach dropped at the thought. Once he'd gotten over the initial shock of texting someone famous, he realized that he enjoyed texting Cas. He was just a normal guy and having a normal conversation that didn't end in someone checking in on him, or looking at him with big sad sympathetic eyes… it was just… nice. Cas's text caught him by surprise.

 **So…** Even in the text, Dean could feel the hesitancy. **23 minutes left. Anything you wanna ask me?**

Dean's heart pounded in his chest. This was it. He could take a risk. Ask Cas for his real number. But –

He bit his lip. If he was a risk taker he would have up and moved to California with Sammy when he had the chance. He glanced at the clock. _17 minutes left._ God, how much time had he wasted staring at his phone? His phone vibrated. **Because, I have a question for you.**

Dean's body froze. His heart rate steadied and instead he found him body practically vibrating with anticipation. _Shoot, Cas._

 _11 minutes left…_

 **Do we have to stop talking?**

He read the message over three times. He thought of saying something clever…something witty… but then – _7 minutes left._ Jesus Christ! He just needed to say something.

 _No._ Eloquent. Yeah real nice, Dean.

 _4 minutes left._

The next text he was sure stopped his heart. There. Across his screen in a blue bubble was Castiel's phone number. He quickly added his number to his phone under Angel and at **2:01AM** sent him a simple, _Hey Cas._

And was happy when at **2:02AM** a, **Hello Stranger (:** came his way.


	5. The Gingerbread Man

_Author's Note: Sorry guys, I disappeared off the map. Here's the next installment - as a sorry it's longer than usual. Also, the next chapter Dean and Castiel will finally meet so stay with me! You guys know I love a slow burn! 4-15-2018_

 **The Gingerbread Man**

It was a Saturday evening, six weeks into their tour that found the Novak brothers shifting uncomfortably in their seats as the Q & A began. Castiel's phone buzzed.

 _How ya holding up on week 6, Cas?_

The corners of his lips quirked up slightly and he glanced up to make sure they weren't about to start. Castiel's Mystery Texter had been texting back and forth with him for six weeks. In the small-time frame of their budding phone friendship they'd established a handful of unspoken ground rules. Castiel never asked for the name of his mystery friend or any personal information. The only conclusions that he had drawn were that his mystery friend was male, at least over 21 and happened to be a bit of a geek thrown in with some classic rock and metal along with clever – given the responses to Castiel's thousands of what he called 'Thoughts that Keep me Up at Night' questions.

In exchange, Mystery Texter never asked him about his show, or his career. And after six weeks of **only** being asking those questions, Castiel couldn't help but feel immensely relieved.

 **I love my fans, really I do.** He felt the need to disclaimer himself before he continued. **But if I have to answer one more question about whether or not Crowley and I had a secret romance off stage – I might throw myself from the building.**

Zachariah took the mic in hand. "Alright, let me start out by saying it's such a pleasure for myself and the boys to be speaking with you all today." The crowd cheered. "So please, let me not bore you with an introduction and let's get right to the Q&A." He passed off the mic to the first fan and Castiel quickly pocketed his cell phone.

"Hi," She darted her eyes between the brother's shyly, lingering momentarily on Lucifer before flicking back to Castiel. "I was um – wondering, how did you come up with the idea that Lucifer fell because he loved people?" She shifted the mic between her hands. "It's just um – anytime you read a Bible or hear about scripture they uh, talk about Lucifer disobeying God and tempting humans."

Lucifer flashed her a shit eating grin and she flushed. "It's no secret that a lot of Castiel's book is based indirectly off our lives. There was a time in my adolescence where I made a decision our family didn't agree with." The rest of the Novaks hung their heads staring into their laps. "And I was angry." There was a beat of silence before he continued. "I felt like they didn't stand by me, like they didn't support me, so I figured I didn't need them." He glanced over at his brothers. "I fell into a rough crowd for -," He huffed. "-longer than I'd care to admit. But I'm grateful they came back for me." The brothers looked up and shared a smile. Luc shifted his gaze back to the girl standing in front of them. "Lucifer is doing the same thing. He did what he thought was right and, in the end, he felt abandoned and fell into a crowd that momentarily has accepted him." He snorted. "And I'm sure Father didn't help by shutting him in that cage."

The crowd let out a light chuckle, ebbing away the slowly growing tension.

The next fan directed his attention to Michael. "I hope this isn't too personal." He licked his lips. "But, if the characters in Archangels are all based off your lives, does that mean you sort of have a soldier-esque personality?"

The brothers shared a look and chuckled. Michael smiled. "Well I wouldn't say solder-,"

Gabriel snorted. "Please, Mike." He looked pointedly at the fan. "He was a tyrant growing up." The crowd laughed.

"I was not!" He argued. "I merely kept you guys in line." He glared at Gabriel. "Especially _you._ You've been causing trouble since you were a toddler."

Gabe feigned shock with a hand over his heart. "What – well I never!" He gasped dramatically.

Michael pointed a finger at him playfully. "You were always pranking Castiel. When he was learning how to walk, you'd stand at the stair banister and throw pillows at him as he tottered by."

"I was simply teaching him the basics of life. Just when you think you got it together -," He smacked his hands. " **-BAM** , life smacks ya with somethin' else!"

"Not to mention you put a stuffed Christmas gingerbread man in his bed so when he came home from school he ran out of his room screaming, fell down the stairs and Luc and I had to rush him to the hospital because he **broke. His. Arm.** " He emphasized.

Gabe rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault Cassie has an irrational fear of the gingerbread man."

Castiel's head fell into his hands. "It's not irrational…" He mumbled feebly.

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. "Gabriel, stop calling him Cassie."

He threw his hands up. "There you go again! Always babying him."

"Guys!" They stopped their bantering from either side of Castiel and turned to look at him. By this time the audience had broken into a roar of laughter. He glared at Michael. "Thank you," He started sarcastically. "For telling the world about my fear of the gingerbread man."

Gabriel shrugged. "It's a weird phobia-,"

"It's not weird!" He defended. "

Michael smacked his forehead. "Oh my Father, I blame Gabe for letting you eat plastic grapes from a fake fruit bowl when you were six."

Later that night Castiel was lying in his hotel bed staring up at the ceiling. He ran a hand tiredly through his hair and glanced at the clock. **11:26PM**. _Ten weeks to go._ He bit his lip before grabbing his phone from the bedside table.

 **Are you afraid of anything?**

It took a few moments for Mystery Texter to reply.

 _What do you mean? Like serial killers or monsters or something._

 **Idk. Anything?**

Another stretch of silence.

 _Flying._

 **What? Like in a plane?**

 _Yeah, in a plane._ Castiel tried to imagine his life without riding in planes. He frowned. It wasn't terrible, in fact he found he didn't even like planes. Even in first class – cramped space, claustrophobic air supply, mediocre food, watered down alcohol, terrible in-flight movies – he could live without it. His phone vibrated again pulling his attention away from his thoughts. _What about you? Got any interesting fears?_

He bit his lip. It'd be ignorant to say no yet embarrassing to tell the truth, but at the same time, what did he have to lose?

 **The Gingerbread Man.** He hesitated and as an after thought sent a second text message. **And horses. Not big on horses.**

There were a few minutes of radio silence where Castiel feared that he might have scared of his phone friend. _I'm gonna need you to explain the Gingerbread one to me, Cas._

 **It's rational! Remember the rhyme? 'You can't catch him, he's the Gingerbread Man?' Well, that means if he decided to murder you – there's no point in running. He's gonna catch you anyway and then you're dead.**

There was a longer than normal response time. _Alright, I see your argument._

 **I already know you're laughing at me.**

 _Maybe just a little. But to your credit – I think you earn some bravery points for being up in a plane every week._

Castiel smiled.

 **-[]-**

Dean was standing in his kitchen, his laptop propped onto the kitchen counter as he started boiling water for his spaghetti. He was live streaming Cas's current Archangel Con and laying out the ingredients for his marinara sauce. He slammed the sauce pot down on the burner.

 _Dammit Bobby._

It was so stupid for him to be angry. He crinkled up his nose. Sure, it was obvious Dean was moody for the last few weeks having missed out on seeing Sam for Spring Break, but God dammit if another person gave him those big sympathetic puppy eyes he was going to punch them in the friggin' face. Everyone in town knew him and Sammy were thick as thieves. All they had left was each other. So not having him around the past couple of years were killin' him.

And everyone he talked to made matters worse.

Ellen's sage words of advice that 'everything would heal over time', Jo's weird flirtatious 'let me comfort you alone at night' innuendos, Garth's bone crushing hugs… it was too much.

And then Bobby refusing to let him come into work on a Saturday to kill sometime. He growled in frustration as he put dry pasta noodles in the boiling water. The doorbell rang and he groaned. God help him, if Ash and Benny were coming over to check on him again, he couldn't be held responsible for pushing them into traffic.

He unlocked and wrenched the door open angrily and froze. Standing on his welcome mat was none other than-

"Sammy!" He exclaimed. His anger ebbed away and he blinked a couple of times. "What-what are you doing here? I thought your spring break was two weeks ago?"

He shrugged. "I lied. I wanted to surprise you."

Dean pulled his not-so-little brother in for a hug. "God, it's good to see you, kid." They let go and he reached down grabbing one of Sam's bags.

"It's good to see you too, Dean." He followed him inside and set the bags at the bottom of the stairs.

He nudged him with his shoulder. "Come on, just started dinner."

As they entered the kitchen he shut his laptop, carrying it off to the sitting area and checking the clock. He had a few more hours till Cas's Q&A anyway. Over dinner, Sam filled him in on school – his grades were high and his classes were hard – and informed him of a potential paid internship at a law firm. Dean furrowed his eyebrows as he skirted around what he did outside of school and instead focused on a popular bakery that had recently opened in his area. Call it older brother instincts, but he couldn't help feeling like Sam was leaving something out.

Dean did his best to update Sam on their hometown. Bobby's shop was steadily busy and him and Ellen were still just dancing around their feelings for each other. Benny was getting ready to propose to Andrea and Garth had just recently started seeing a sweet church girl. Ash was pining half heartedly after Benny, but his attention starting to shift on Jo.

Sam laughed at that. "Jo still trying to get at you?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "She just doesn't quite understand that I see her as more of a sister you know?"

Sam shuddered. "Yuck. You dating Jo would be like incest." There was a moment of silence as Sam flicked his eyes up to Dean uncertainly and in that instant he knew his next question. "What about Lisa, any run ins with her?"

Dean shook his head quickly. "No. Seen her at a distance. Before she'd try to come up to me and talk, but I always walked away. Now she just sort of stares at me," He ran the bottom edge of his beer along the table absentmindedly. "But I never make eye contact and just keep walking."

Sam thankfully didn't push the subject any further. He tapped his phone to check the time. "Hey! Archangels is having their Q&A soon. Wanna live stream it? I can hook my laptop up to your TV."

Dean slid back from his chair and grabbed their empty places. "Sure thing Sammy. I'll put the dishes in the dishwasher and grab a few more beers."

 **-[]-**

"Balthazar, why are you the only one with an accent?"

The brothers chuckled. "Well darling, when I was a boy I was a bit of a trouble maker and father had his hands full with work and couldn't be bothered dealing with me. So, I was sent to boarding school in London when I was seven, brought home only for Christmas and Easter. Most of my life was spent in Europe."

The girl at the microphone rubbed her arm self-consciously. "There's also a rumor floating around that if an Archangels sequel _does_ air, you won't be part of it."

Balthazar gave her a knowing smile. "That's only partially true." A heavy silence fell over the room. "I will be staring my own fashion line this summer back in England and unfortunately for Archangels that will be occupying most of my time. However," His eyes darted over to Castiel. "Should Cassie _choose_ to write and air a sequel I will _gladly_ guest star whenever he asks for however long he asks."

Their final questioner stepped up to the mic.

"Gabriel, I guess my question to you is – was it weird being interviewed by Kali after you guys had been an item?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Not particularly." He glanced at Castiel. "Although it's _uncanny_ that Castiel sort of predicted that outcome. In Archangels Kali cheats on Gabriel with another demigod and while we were shooting those special episodes in Scotland with Crowley she wasted no time cheating on me in real life too."

"Aren't you angry?"

He gave an apologetic smile. "I was, but," He frowned. "We've manage to stay friends and I'm happy for the new success of her late-night show." His smile crept back. "Besides, I'm sort of seeing someone else now." The crowd broke out into a shocked and excited murmur. "And before any of you waste your questions – I won't be telling you guys who."

 **-[]-**

The bomb that had dropped in the 9th week of Archangels Con that Gabriel was seeing someone was everywhere. Dean heard it in the shop amongst the other mechanics, heard it at the bar when him and Sam were sharing a drink at Ellen's. Hell, when they went to by groceries to barbeque, the cashier and bagger were discussing who it could possibly be. And the worst fan girl by far had been Sam. He was positively beaming, holding this stupid little smirk every time he heard it mentioned.

Dean rolled his eyes as they left the store. "Jesus Sammy, what the hell you so happy about?"

He just shook his head staring at the ground. "It's nothing Dean."

"Sam?" Both brothers looked up. Lisa was standing a few feet away, a two-year-old dark-haired boy attached to her hip. "I heard you were back in town." She closed the distance, glancing briefly at Dean. "It's good to see you."

Sam darted his eyes to Dean before falling to her. "Lisa." He said tensely. "Didn't think I'd run into you."

She narrowed her eyes. "It's a small town." She tried to hide the anger out of her voice.

"Yeah, well I imagine you would know." He frowned. "Having made your way through most of the male population-,"

"How dare you!" She pressed her son's head to her shoulder and covered up his ear.

Dean ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. "Lisa, what the hell are you trying to do here? I think I've made it pretty clear that I want nothing to do with you."

She dropped her hand away from her son and shifted him to the other hip. "I just think you're making a mistake, Dean. We were good together – _great_ together. It was a stupid one night stand, and it didn't mean anything. You mean everything to me."

Sam snorted and she glared. "You wanna know what I think? I think you're crawling back to Dean because your hick-biker boyfriend doesn't want anything to do with being a dad." Dean blinked in surprise. _Damn, California's doing him some good._

She ignored him and focused back on Dean, angry lines across her forehead. "Look, I'm the best that you're gonna do in a town like this! We can raise Ben together-,"

Dean held his hand up. "Save it, Lisa. I don't wanna be with you." He brushed past her and Sam sneered at her as they continued towards the Impala.

"You know what Dean?" She shouted. "That's fine! You were never gonna be anything. I don't wanna be with the town's sad boy. Poor Dean and his dead parents and absent brother." She jeered. "I just felt sorry for you…" The rest of her words were drowned out as they slammed the Impala's doors. Sam reached back and placed his reusable bags in the back seat. They drove in silence, pulling up to the old childhood home. Dean parked in the driveway and stared at the small country two story cottage.

Not for the first time, it looked cold. Uninviting. An overwhelming sense of dread about crossing its threshold surged through him. He stared owlishly. It was like he was living in a tomb for the past few years. Living in a place that never truly belonged to him.

"Dean." He blinked over at Sam. "My offer still stands." He looked up from fidgeting with his fingernails. "When I moved away to go to school, I meant what I said." There was a beat of silence. "It's not too late to come with me." He swallowed. "My spring break's not over for two weeks. We could sell all the furniture, clean up the house, pack up some of your things and mail them back to my apartment." He frowned and looked ahead of him at the white paint peeling off the garage door. "You could drive the Impala with the rest of your things – it'd only take you a few days."

There was another long stretch of silence and Dean wondered about the cold items they'd bought before Sam's voice broke him away from his thoughts again.

"If you stay here Dean, I'll support it." Sam's face looked calculating as though he were choosing his next words carefully. "But you'll always be that guy whose parents died and brothers left him and whose high school sweetheart got pregnant with another man's baby... Bobby and Ellen are great, but they watched you grow up. They know what it looks like when you're happy and they _know_ that this isn't it. And although they mean well I know they're driving you crazy." He frowned. "You'll never be able to get away from it Dean, not here at least. Bobby's friend Rufus owns that garage in the same town I live in. The first time I tried to get you to move he told you, you could work there." He reached behind and grabbed the bags placing them in his lap. "Just think about it." He murmured. He reached for the door handle and Dean's voice stopped him.

"Okay." Dean's eyes were staring out the windshield as the ancient garage door swung open.

Sam gave him a light reassuring smile. "You'll think about it?"

His gaze remained forward. "No." He pulled the car into the garage.

Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean no? You just said-,"

"Okay, I'll go back with you. Not okay, I'll think about it." He looked over at his younger brother.

Sam blinked once. Twice. A third time before a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "You mean it?"

Dean couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "I mean it. I'm moving to Cali."


	6. BTCB, for Short

_Author's Note: I'm **so** sorry for the long gap between updates. My laptop decided it was tired of being a laptop for awhile so I wasn't able to write anything. This chapter is a little bit shorter, and I apologize for that, but it should pick up from here! Please let me know what you guys think! It feels good to be back. 5-10-2018_

 **BTCB for Short**

It's funny how the idea of a fresh start sparks a fire in everyone.

After selling their childhood home to Bobby and Ellen as well as most of the larger furniture and appliances, Sam and Dean packed up the Impala and headed straight for a five-day road trip to California. Ellen and Bobby agreed to store most of their childhood mementos for them leaving Dean to pack only the essentials and Sam to grab a few extra clothes he left behind.

Dean had another week before his job at Rufus Repairs started so he used that free time to settle into Sam's second bedroom in his apartment, buying new bedroom furniture as well as some new clothes to adapt to California weather. He was standing at the kitchen counter checking his pot roast in the Crock Pot when his phone chimed.

 **Will you please tell my brother that Ron is not a time traveling Dumbledore?**

Dean chuckled at that, having had the same argument with Sam. _Of course, he's not. Dumbledore is so bad ass, and Ron is sooo lame._

 **Thank you.** Before Dean could reply, another text came through. **He claims Dumbledore and Ron didn't have direct contact because it would be too weird talking to your former self.**

Dean furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head while he made his reply. _Yeah, but you'd think that he'd use that to his advantage, right?_ He pulled out some frozen biscuits and preheated the oven. He placed them on a cookie sheet and his phone ding'd again.

 **They both love sweets and they both have red hair.**

Dean rolled his eyes. _So? A lot of people have red hair._ He waited a beat before adding, _Besides, isn't Dumbledore gay? Ron obviously isn't._

He put the biscuits in the oven and used the free moment to go into his room and change into some sweat pants and a tank top. Even though fall was around the corner, Dean couldn't help but feel the sweltering California summer heat, even inside. He checked his phone again.

 **Thank you, that seems to have shut him up.**

Dean smiled. _You've helped me solve a lot of my arguments, the least I could do is help you with yours._

He chuckled at Cas's reply. **You're right. It was the least you could do.** Castiel's dry and deadpanned humor was growing on him. **Feel like I haven't had you ask me much lately. My life's been a little quiet.**

Dean bit his lip. A tiny part of him was satisfied that Castiel noticed his absence. _Sorry, I was in the process of moving._

He moved into the living room and flopped down on the couch, turning on the TV. **Oh, where to?**

He flipped through some channels until he found Dr. Sexy MD. He rubbed the side of his face, choosing his reply carefully. _West Coast._

 **Ah, I enjoy the west coast.**

Dean's heart started thudding in his chest, blood rushing to his eardrums. He knew they were crossing a line, a line far past super heroes, wizards and Jedis. _Weather's a bitch though._ He replied.

 **I think my biggest complaint is temperature. It's 101 degrees outside, so I dress accordingly. Shorts. Tank top.** Dean would deny that his mouth involuntarily watered at the idea of Cas in a tank top. **And then I go inside a restaurant or store or something, and it's freezing. I wish they could just decide on one universal temperature, like 75 degrees. 75 degrees is perfect.**

Dean laughed. _Who's they, Cas?_

The front door opened, and he heard Sam's grunt as he hauled in his school supplies. **I don't know, the Bureau for Temperature Control in Businesses. BTCB for short.**

Dean shook his head and stood up to meet Sammy in the hall. _You're a dork._

"Hey Sammy," He nodded towards the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready. How was school?"

Sam dropped his school bag and laptop bag in the hall. "It was great." He inhaled. "Cool, you made dinner again?"

"Yeah, but don't get used to it. I start at Rufus's on Monday." He pulled the biscuits out of the oven.

"Well, I've got a surprise for your last free weekend."

He started pulling down dishes. "Oh yeah? Whatcha got, Sammy?" He pointed a spoon at him. "You better not be taking me to some lame museum again, that's a surprise but it isn't a good one."

Sam glared. "Dean. That was a _historical_ museum. History about Egyptians is-," He shook his head and waved his hands. "Nevermind, nevermind. Hold on." He went into the hall and grabbed his satchel setting it on the kitchen chair and rifling through the pockets. "I got us…" He pulled out two lanyards with a laminated card at the bottom. "Two **VIP passes** to the LA Archangels Con!" He shouted.

Dean blanched, the Pot Roast squishing against the bottom of the bowl in his hand as it slipped off the ladle. "You got… _what_?"

"VIP passes." Sam continued swapping out the lanyard with Dean's name on it for the bowl of pot roast. He pulled a dinner roll of the baking sheet. "We'll have access to any events they have and get to go back stage and meet the cast." He sat down at the table. "Once the Q&A is done, we get to go to the after party." He pushed around his food and looked up. "Dean? Aren't you gonna eat anything?"

 **-[]-**

Screw Uriel.

Castiel's feet pounded against the pavement as he turned down another street.

No! - Screw Uriel _and_ Raphael.

His legs burned as he pushed closer to that third mile.

Well, if he was being logical – screw Uncle Zach too!

He pressed the crosswalk button, jogging in place at the corner while he waited. He could feel the cold early morning air biting at his face and numbing his nose. He wiped the tip of his nose across the sleeve of his black hoodie.

God, besides his brothers his whole family sucked. This last convention in LA could very well possibly be the death of him. He snorted. Stupid self-righteous assholes. Uncle Zachariah, thinking he's Jesus himself for adopting the brothers to begin with. It was all just a dumb publicity stunt to help his uncle's acting career. The sign flashed and Castiel jogged across the asphalt. He was so sick and tired of their stupid homophobic 'you're gonna burn in hell' conversations. Sure, it was easy for Gabriel to let it roll off his skin, but Uncle Zach was right. Castiel had a career to maintain, and the safety of his job wasn't only important to him, but to his family as well. If something happened and his career went south, he might unintentionally drag his brothers down with him.

He picked up the pace and watched his trainers as they beat against the sidewalk. God, his Uncle was such a – such an _assbutt!_

" **Ommfff-!** "

"Jesus Christ!"

Castiel thudded into a solid body in front of him causing him to stumble back and hit the pavement. He felt a small patch of cold liquid dampen his left sleeve. He groaned and wiped feebly at his sleeve with his palm. "God, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going I-," He looked up and felt his face flush with embarrassment and his heart beat in his throat. Standing above him was a gorgeous hard man. He had California sun-kissed skin, dotted with freckles, his brunette hair styled almost perfectly to the left and a pair of sea green eyes. His eyes fell to his chest… and his black leather jacket which was currently dripping some sort of iced coffee – Castiel found his voice again. "I'm so sorry."

The stranger's eyes widened for a fraction of a second and Castiel was suddenly aware that his hood had slipped down in the fall. He braced himself for a bombardment of questions, a fan selfie, or an autograph. A strong calloused hand appeared in his vision. "It's alright. Let me help you up."

Castiel accepted the hand, loving the feel of the contrasting roughness to his own smooth palm. The stranger's hand was slightly damp from the spilled tea. "Thank you." He gestured to the jacket. "I'm so sorry about that I wasn't paying attention-,"

"It's alright." He smirked and Castiel was almost positive he was going to melt right there.

"Well please," He gestured to the building. "Let me get you another one."

"It's alright-,"

He shook his head. "No, I insist." He realized they were still holding hands and he withdrew his shyly, running a hand through his sweaty hair and pulling back the hood. "I'm not gonna let it go unless you let me." He laughed breathlessly.

The stranger looked down smiling and flicked his gaze up through his lashes. "Alright, alright." He nodded towards the entrance and Castiel followed closely behind him. He bit his lip to stifle a small whimper as he watched him walk ahead of him. God he'd happily lick one of those perfect bowed legs– _Whoa Castiel, dial back._

He cleared his throat uncomfortably as they shuffled in line, three people ahead of them. "I um – I didn't catch your name."

His green-eyed stranger seemed to consider him a moment before holding out his hand again for a proper handshake. "Dean."

"Dean." He tested the name on his tongue and suppressed an involuntary shudder taking the calloused hand once again. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Casti-Cas. I'm Cas." A look of affection passed across Dean's face.

"Cas, huh?" He bit his lip seeming to fight a knowing smile and Castiel once again wondered if Dean knew who he really was. "Well Cas, it's great to meet you."


	7. Ogres

_Author's Note: This one is a little bit longer, but I hope you like it! Sorry for the wait! 5/27/2018_

 **Ogres**

Okay, don't freak out.

Well, he wasn't freaking out – men don't freak out.

He cleared his throat and shifted his weight shyly. He was standing next to Castiel Novak. _The_ Castiel Novak. Okay, maybe he was freaking out just a _tiny_ bit.

He took an internal deep breath. _Okay, flash some of that Winchester charm._ He smiled brightly. "So, come here often?" _Smooth dumbass…_

But Castiel, perfect being that he was just chuckled good naturedly and gave a mischievous smile. "I do, actually." They took a step forward in line, waiting just behind one other person. "Occasionally my work will take me out of town, but for the most part I live close by and come here as much as I can." They stepped up to the counter and Cas flashed his pearly whites. "Hey Becky, can I get two of my usual and an iced coffee as well please. Thank you."

She beamed, wide eyed at him. "Sure thing!"

Castiel gently ushered Dean away from the counter. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait – don't you have to pay?" He gestured back to the counter but continued to weave through the tables behind Cas.

The Novak shrugged and smiled apologetically. "My brother kind of owns the place." He chose a booth in a secluded corner and Dean took it as a sign that he wanted the privacy.

"You don't say?" He asked as they slid into the both across from each other. He raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his seat. "So that means you know the best thing on the menu, right?"

Castiel winked. "Why did you think I ordered two of my usual?"

Dean smirked. And God, if cocky Castiel Novak didn't turn him on just a little bit. "Good to know I'm being taken care of." He saw a flicker of surprise dance across Cas's face before returning to his small endearing smile. Dean stifled a yawn. "Jesus, I'm over here yawning about being up so early and you were able to _run_ here. God, Cas – way to show a guy up."

Cas just chuckled. "Sometimes, I need it to clear my head, you know?" He shrugged.

Dean's eyes danced playfully. "Color me convinced. Maybe I should take up running."

Becky appeared a moment later handing over two pieces of coffee cake smothered in melting butter and slid a mixed ice drink and an iced coffee Dean's way. "Here go Mr. Nova-,"

"Thank you, Becky." He replied abruptly. She nodded once and Dean smirked at the fact that she was barely able to contain a smile.

When she disappeared Dean sized up the slice of cake. "So, undoing all the running, huh?"

Castiel's lips quirked up in a barely there grin. "Just take a bite, and trust a stranger."

Dean matched his gaze and took a giant bite as Castiel hummed happily into his food. The Winchester groaned. "Oh my god. This is incredible!" He said around a mouthful of cake. He looked up to meet his playful blue eyes. "This might have to be my go to coffee joint!" He took a sip of his iced coffee and crinkled up his nose.

"Not from around here?" Castiel asked casually.

Dean shook his head. "No, no. I just moved here." He chuckled. "Enjoying my last few days before I start my new job."

Conversation continued, ranging from things to do in the surrounding area, facts about the small neighborhood (learning that Castiel lived in a house not too far from Dean and Sam's apartment complex), talking about their jobs (with Cas skirting around the topic of his career as much as he could – much to Dean's amusement), and the Winchester was shocked at just how easy it was to talk someone famous. He looked down realizing that their plates were long gone, iced coffee now just half melted ice and watery whipped cream sitting at the bottom of Castiel's cup. He hardly had time to wonder how long they'd been there when an alarm went off on the author's phone that he'd placed on the table when they sat down.

"Oh geeze! I'm so sorry." He looked up guiltily. "I've kept you here for 2 hours. I'm sure you have better things to be doing-,"

Dean shook his head smiling and pulled out his own phone. "No, no. It's fine." He checked the time, shocked that it was almost 9AM. He looked up and found Castiel smiling with big doe eyes at his phone and Dean's heart flip flopped at the prospect that it was from the text he'd sent earlier.

 _Brother had me watching this stupid medieval movie today. Do you think there were such things as ogres?_

He watched Castiel type out a reply and quickly pocketed his own cell phone, feeling it vibrate a moment later. He resisted the urge to read it. Castiel's eyes flicked back up, a small smile plastered to his face. "I apologize, that was my calendar alarm. Unfortunately, I have a doctor's appointment to get to." He hesitated one more second before the actor pocketed his phone and shifted up and out of the booth. Dean followed quickly.

"Thanks man, for letting me take up so much of your time." Dean rubbed his lips together to fight the urge to burst into nervous laughter at spending time with _the_ Castiel Novak.

Cas seemed thoughtful a moment before holding out his hand to shake Dean's. "It was… _pleasant_ having a normal conversation." Dean shook his hand firmly and tried to ignore the goddamn butterflies that seemed to flitter around his stomach.

"It was." He agreed. "Thanks Cas, I'm uh-," He cleared his throat. Now or never, at least he could say he tried. "I'm really glad I met you today." He swore he saw blush rise up the actor's neck to the tips of his ears.

Castiel nodded once and held his gaze. "Me too." Minutes passed, and Dean realized they were still holding hands and he reluctantly slipped his away, instantly missing the warmth of Cas's hand. The writer shifted uncomfortably. "I – uh – I better run back."

They followed each other out the front door, feeling the warm California sunlight hit their skin. "Thanks again, man." Dean lifted one hand and reached into his pocket searching for the keys to the Impala turning away and started for the parking lot.

"Dean." He turned around. Castiel was staring at him, blue eyes intense and determined. "I hope I see you around again."

The Winchester's lips formed a half smile. "You'll see me soon, Castiel."

And as he opened the door to the Impala, he pulled out his phone and smiled.

 **Ogres? I'm pretty sure I've dated a few.**

 **-[]-**

Castiel couldn't fight the grin on his face. He just rubbed his lips together to continue fighting the urge to smile stupidly some more. He met a cute guy today. He snorted. Okay, cute wasn't the word – Greek god.

"What's gotten into you?" Lucifer came into the kitchen from the east wing of Gabriel and Castiel's house, slipping onto a stool at the kitchen island. He reached out into Castiel's carefully labeled jar of trail mix and dumped a small handful into his mouth. "I've never seen you smile this much before."

"It's nothing." He murmured secretly, turning back to open the fridge. "Making a green smoothie. Would you like one?" He changed the subject.

Lucifer snorted. "Sure, better than trying to feed myself."

Castiel methodically began pulling out bananas, spinach, carrots and other berries as well as some juice placing them all on the counter. "Ready for this weekend?"

Lucifer shrugged. "Ready for a final tour – that's for sure."

Castiel shifted uncomfortably. "Hey Luke?" He placed all the ingredients in the blender and put it on low. "Has Uncle Zach given you the final guest star list for the last convention?"

He turned around and saw Luke grimace sympathetically. "I did."

He put a hand over his face and groaned. "How bad is it?"

Balthazar came into the kitchen and leapt up on the counter, a piece of paper clutched in his hand. "Well we're looking at all the usual – Uriel and Raphael," The brothers groaned. "Alfie, Rachel, Hester Charles, Uncle Zach, Aunt Naomi, Anna -,"

"Slut."

"Luke!" Catsiel admonished.

The oldest Novak snorted. "Come on!" He took the smoothie that Castiel handed to him. "She was fucking you _and_ Michael at the same time!" He threw his hands up exasperatedly. "Neither of you even _knew_ about it!"

Balthazar grunted in agreement. "Yeah mate, I'm gonna have to say she might be the second worst thing that happened to you guys." He tsked as he stole a swig of Castiel's smoothie. "Wouldn't be surprised if she's the reason why you made the switch to men."

Luke shook his head. "Nah, I don't think he chose men as a way out. Let's not forget that his worst mistake was Crowley who - ," He snatched the paper out of Balthazar's hand. "-incidentally will _also_ be there this weekend."

Castiel groaned. "Fergus and I hooked up _briefly._ I had never been with another man before. Augh. Is it too late to call in sick?" He thought back to his mystery texter. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd dated ogres.

Balthazar rolled his eyes turning his attention to Lucifer. "Hey where's Michael at?"

The two of them discussed Michael's date with Rachel and Castiel let his mind wander off. His phone vibrated and he read his text smiling.

 _Ready for your final Con night?_

Castiel inwardly snorted. **More than ready.** He rubbed his lips together and glanced up noticing the brothers still lost in their conversation about Mike. The conversation he had with a stranger at Gabriel's coffee shop gave him a surge of confidence before he added, **You ever been to an Archangels Con?**

"Where's Gabe at?" Luke's voice drew his attention.

He shrugged. "On a date with his new boyfriend. He's supposed to come tomorrow to the convention."

He turned back to his phone. _No, I've never been._

 **Would you want to?**

"Is that when we're going to meet him?" Balth asked as he discreetly reached out to sip from Luke's smoothie.

 _Why? Are you asking me to?_

He bit his lip to fight a nervous smile. **Maybe. What would you say if I got you tickets?**

His heart was thumping in his chest. "Cassie?" He looked up to see two concerned brothers staring back at him. "Are you alright? You look pale."

Castiel cleared his throat and turned to the counter to busy himself putting away his ingredients. "Nothing, I'm fine." He could feel their eyes burning in the back of his head but he ignored them as his phone buzzed again. _I'd say no._ He froze rereading the text a few times his head screaming – _shitshitshitshit_ \- Okay, no big deal. He could back out of this. He just had to play it off and –

Another text came through. _I'd say no because my brother and I already have VIP tickets._

"Sonofabitch!" He exclaimed relieved.

"Cassie!" Luke shouted and he pocketed his phone abruptly. "What's gotten into you?"

He groaned and turned around. "Just don't worry about it! It's nothing!" He pushed himself into the pantry to hide from his brothers pretending to search for something to eat. **So, what you're saying is – I get to meet you tomorrow?**

 _If you're lucky._

He hid his smile and he pulled out a couple bags of Durritos. His brothers were staring expectantly at the kitchen island. "Cassie," Balth started. "I think you have some explaining to do."

He braced himself. "I-,"

They heard the front door fumble open, and a small crash before it slammed shut. They heard another loud thud and gave each other startled looks before sliding stealthy away from the kitchen and into the entry way. They froze. Gabriel was pinned to the wall beside the door, his legs wrapped around the waist of a tall well built man with messy dark hair and his tongue shoved down his throat. Gabe thrusted his hands into the stranger's hair moaning softly as aforementioned giant readjusted his grip underneath their brother's thighs and slammed him against the wall again, sliding up his sides and down again.

The brothers watching shared amused glances before Lucifer decided to loudly clear his throat. They broke apart, panting and Gabriel glared while the giant flushed a deep red and hid his face into the Novak's neck muttering an embarrassed "Oh my god!"

Gabriel groaned and threw his head against the wall. "Oh my god! Why the _hell_ are you all here. Don't you have lives?"

They started laughing and returned to the kitchen and a moment later the disheveled couple entered as well, holding hands. Luke blinked. "Wow. He's like a _foot_ taller than you. Jesus Gabe!"

"Shut up Lucy." He placed a hand on the giant's ribs. "This is Sam. Sam, this is Lucifer, Balthazar, and Castiel."

Sam held out his hand, giving each of them a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you guys, and I'm so embarrassed." He threw a hand over his face and hid his eyes. "I was supposed to meet you guys yesterday, can we just pretend this didn't happen and try again tomorrow?"

The brothers laughed and Balthazar clasped a hand on his shoulder. "No problem mate." He chuckled and ruffled Gabe's hair. "I like him."

Luke followed him to the living room. "Have fun you two."

Castiel gave them a light smile and headed for the living room as well, slumping into the loveseat and kicking his feet over the arm rest. Luke put on Scrubs and Castiel let his mind wander to the last few months of their final Archangels tour. He ran a hand through his hair. Between tours, fans, photo-ops, Q&As, and writing his next book he'd sometimes find himself suffocating under all that pressure. He took a deep calming breath and thought of his mystery texter being his savior and helping maintain some sanity. He suddenly felt anxious about meeting him tomorrow. He'd imagined a hundred times what he might look like. He was hoping for someone, similar to him. Maybe dark hair, dark eyes, big framed glasses, a slim build with a nerdy chic style. He did an internal eyeroll.

Of course, Castiel wasn't about to get that lucky. His eyes closed, and he realized he'd been up for almost 20 hours if you included his run at six this morning. His thoughts wandered to that beautiful man today. His green eyes, his disheveled blonde morning hair, and the light stubble on his high cheek bones. And god those thick full lips. He shook his head.

 _Dean._

He liked the feel of his name leaving his lips, or ringing in his head. Augh, Father. He was _gorgeous._ That California sun-kissed skin…

And hearing the nickname _Cas_ out loud made him even more grateful to his mystery texter. God, he wanted to hear Dean say 'Cas' again. Too bad he didn't have time to go to the coffee shop tomorrow before they left. He smiled. He was almost confident he'd see Dean again, even if it meant he had to run to the coffee shop _every_ morning to figure out his schedule or go down to that auto shop he'd be working at.

Damn, he sounded like a stalker. He crinkled up his nose. Determined. Let's go with the word determined. He was going to see Dean again. Dean wanted to see him again and he'd be dammed if he wasn't gonna do everything in his power to hear the name 'Cas' leave his lips again. Hell, he even liked the way he said 'Castiel'. Normally it was an awkward name, but rolling off Dean's tongue – it's like it was made for those perfect full lips.

 _Castiel._

He shot up into a rigid seated position. " **Sonofabitch!** " He blinked a few times. " **He knew my name!** "

His brothers sat up straight and let out an alarmed unison, "What?"


	8. Archangels After Party Pt 1

_Author's Note: Decided to divide this into two parts! Here is part one! 6-3-2018_

 **Archangels After Party Pt. 1**

Castiel ran a hand through his hair. They were at the final Archangels Con and his mystery texter was here. Today. Right now. This could be it. He scanned the crowd at the sea of faces wondering if mystery texter would pop out at him. He bit his lip. He had VIP tickets. That meant he'd be at the after party once all the technical stuff was done.

They'd been texting back and forth throughout the day. His mystery texter being bold enough to take pictures of a booth he was currently standing at and that made Castiel both love and hate him a little bit more.

He cleared his throat and focused his attention back to the crowd.

They'd just finished with their guest star questions, and the Con was rapidly coming to an end. Castiel slid out from his chair and stood to his feet to address the crowd with their final goodbye. "We want to thank you all for your continued support." The brothers stood up and flanked him on both sides, coming in close together. This was it. The final chapter. An era was ending and Castiel couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. "I started writing Archangels when I was an awkward dorky teenager, and it was just a story to help me cope with my weird dysfunctional family. And now, here I am at 23 an awkward dorky adult and although my family is still weird, we're at least together again." Michael and Lucifer squeezed in on either side of him and the crowd chuckled. "We're sad to close this chapter in our lives, but you haven't seen the last of us and you haven't seen the last of Archangels. Before we say goodbye, I'm excited to announce that I'm currently working on a companion piece to Archangels called The Righteous Man." The crowd went wild and the brothers laughed excitedly together.

Michael took the microphone from Castiel and chuckled excitedly. He pursed his pale pink lips in a soft pout. "We love you all and we'll miss you!" He set the mic down and the brothers gathered together for a giant group hug, and suddenly the flood gates opened. The fans started crying and screaming as the brothers clutched onto each other sobbing uncontrollably.

Amidst the noise Lucifer kissed the side of Cas's head and yelled into his ear, "Thank you Cassie. Love you brother."

The rest of the Novaks held on even tighter and Castiel closed his eyes savoring the moment. He could hear cameras flashing, the sound of people clapping, screaming, cheering… He leaned in and they all bumped foreheads together.

He hummed pleasantly. It was good to be a family again.

 **-[]-**

 _Your family is kind of amazing, Cas._

He glanced at his watch, a smile plastered on his face. Castiel would be damned if he didn't force the guy to come out and meet him. It was 8PM when they finally arrived at the club the station had rented out for them. The music was loud, and the room was filled with producers, guest stars, crew members, friends and fans with VIP access.

He crinkled up his nose as he scanned the crowd. At most there had to be 200 people in this room. He rubbed his lips together. The dance floor was full of people – well – not so much people as Balthazar and Gabriel flailing around in the center. His lips quirked up in a smile as he watched Sam shake his head with an affectionate grin on his face. Damn, Gabriel was lucky he found someone to put up with his… _flamboyant_ personality.

He pushed through the crowd, stopping a few times for pictures before he made it to the bar. He tapped the counter with his index finger, catching the attention of the attractive bartender. He was young, a slender frame with bright blue eyes and pale skin. His eyes glanced over Castiel and he gave a shy smile. "Moscow Mule please."

He turned away from the bar and his eyes darted around the crowd 'til a bundle of fiery red hair caught his attention. He rolled his eyes. Of course.

Anna.

She was pressed up against the hallway leading to the bathroom and – surprise, surprise – it was his cousin Uriel that had his hand pressed against the wall and another hand on her hip. Father, she was gonna go through the whole Novak family if she kept this up.

"Cassie, Darling." He turned around and came almost chest to chest with Crowley. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Here's your Moscow!" Castiel shot him a cocky grin before locking eyes with the young bartender. He dragged the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip and smirked.

"Thank you, but I've already got one."

The bartender flushed, and Crowley cleared his throat. "I'll have the same." The kid turned away abruptly, faltering under Crowley's glare. He flicked a predatory gaze to Castiel. "Interesting drink choice for you. I always thought you enjoyed something a little… _sweeter_ if I recall."

He rolled his eyes in response as the bartender set down another drink and slipped away to help someone else. "Do you need something specific Fergus?"

Crowley took a generous drink. "Well dear," He placed the tumbler on the bar. "I'd just like to congratulate you on your success." His fingertips grazed the surface of the bar gently and made their way to his forearm. "I've got some ideas on how we can celebrate, Cassie."

"My name's not Cassie." Crowley's hand slipped away as Castiel lifted his tumbler to take another drink.

He quirked an eyebrow mockingly. "Oh? And what would you prefer to be called then?"

"I'd prefer to be called-,"

"Cas?" His mouth snapped shut. That wasn't his voice! A firm hand dropped to his shoulder and he spun around. "I've been looking all over for you." _No fucking way._ Castiel's mouth dropped open as he locked his blue eyes with a pair of incredibly green and mischievous ones. His dirty blonde hair was mused up playfully, a feisty smirk on his perfect plump lips. He was wearing an AC/DC Band shirt with a red and black flannel over it, finished off with a pair of plain blue jeans shaped over his perfect bow legs. He watched his boot-clad feet shift under his scrutiny and his eyes flicked back to his face again.

"Dean?"

He gave him a cheeky smile. "I told you I'd see you soon, Cas." His heart trembled, and he couldn't help the wistful stare that crossed his face. His Greek Adonis was standing right in front of him. Crowley cleared his throat behind him and he blinked slowly, lids fluttering as he tried to take a bracing breath to tell him off as – _professionally –_ as he could.

He turned around and gave a forced smile. "Fergus-," He started tensely. He froze when he felt Dean's hand rest comfortably on his upper back, the mechanic slipping in comfortably beside him.

"I hope you don't mind me stealing Cas from ya." He smirked and Castiel couldn't help but shoot him a mild look of surprise. "I'm new to Cali and Novak here, promised to show me around." He locked eyes with Cas and gave him a reassuring smile. "What do you say? Still up for checking out' the outside courtyard."

Castiel grinned and slithered his hand around Dean's waist before turning to Crowley. "Sorry Fergus, we'll catch up later."

They turned away and strode confidently towards a hallway. "I can't believe you're here." He murmured as he searched the crowd making sure not to draw attention to the fact that Castiel Novak had his arm around a man.

He felt the gentle rumble of Dean's laugh beside him and Father, if it wasn't the most intoxicating sound… "I can't tell if you're happy about it or not."

"Of course, I'm happy." He answered hurriedly. They stopped in the middle of the secluded hallway and Dean cocked an eyebrow. Castiel blushed and turned away. "I just mean ah -," _Get it together Novak. You're a freaking writer!_ "Thanks for saving me from Fergus." He pushed Dean with his palm to nudge him to continued down the hall. "By the way, where's this outdoor courtyard?"

Dean smirked and moved his arm to wrap around Castiel's shoulders instead and snorted as he pushed open what he hoped was a door that led outside. "Hell if I know, babe." He snorted and Castiel laughed following him outside.


	9. Archangels After Party Pt 2

_Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I was in the hospital. I'm back meow. 7/10/2018_

 **Archangels After Party, Pt. 2**

The cool evening air flittered across Castiel's skin and he instantly missed the warmth of Dean's comforting arm across his shoulders. The courtyard had fairy lights strung between the buildings, there was low music streaming through the outdoor speakers and a handful of black iron tables and chairs. Castiel scanned

the area, grateful that it was mostly deserted. Dean leaned in close again, placing a hand gently on Cas's upper back. "Take a seat. I'm gonna grab us a couple of beers."

Goosebumps shot along Castiel's skin at the feeling of Dean's warm breath ghosting along the shell of his ear. Castiel sat cross-legged in the iron black chair and hunched over the table, shielding himself from the cold. Dean appeared a moment later across the table and slid a beer Cas's way. "You cold?" He asked cocking up an eyebrow.

Castiel rubbed his hands over his thinly clothed arms. "A little." He admitted. Dean cleared his throat and gave him a light smile before shouldering off his leather jacket and placing it around Castiel's shoulders. "Wha-you don't need to-,"

Dean just shook his head and chuckled. "It's fine, Cas. I wear a lot of layers."

He slid his arms through Dean's jacket and pulled it tighter around his torso. He reached forward and slid the beer between his hands. "Why didn't you tell me you knew who I was?" He blurted out.

Dean looked surprised for a moment before he chuckled around the neck of his drink. "Would it have made a difference?"

Castiel furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

He rubbed his lips together and turned away shyly. "I just mean that I wanted to get to know you." He shrugged. "The real you." He rolled the bottom of his bottle across the surface of the table. "The one that donates to charities, runs marathons, makes dorky 'stay in school' kids videos…" He chuckled good-naturedly. "My brother's the one that's a huge fan." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "I shouldn't tell you this, but he's always had a huge crush on you." Castiel blushed crimson and looked away. "Is it weird to wanna get to know Castiel Novak the person, not the actor?"

The writer shifted in his seat and tried to fight his smile. He flicked his gaze upward, eyes sparkling through his lashes. "No, it's not weird. Just… different." He took a quick sip of his beer. "I'm just not used to people being interested in anything other than the show or the books."

Dean chuckled lowly and put his elbow on his table and carded his hand through his hair. "Well, Cas. I'm interested." Castiel licked his lips unconsciously and Dean's eyes flicked down, and he swallowed thickly. "Very interested."

Before Castiel could respond, the door was flung open and a tall man, hair tied back into a bun came stumbling out the door, with a small blonde man in a tight V-Neck and light washed jeans clutching tightly to his waist. The taller guy straightened up, grabbing the hands of the smaller man and whirling him around until the front of their torsos were pressed up against each other. Bun man stumbled back, hitting the wall and pulled the smaller man against him, dipping down and capturing his lips in a sweet kiss. They pulled away and he looked up to Dean and Castiel and blinked several times. He threw his hands up excitedly "Dean!"

The giant fumbled over and Dean instantly got up to steady him. "Sammy." He chided. His eyes flicked up to the Gabriel and he blanched. "Gabriel?" He looked back to his brother. "Bro, are you hooking up with Gabriel Novak." He shook his head. "What about your boyfriend?"

Sammy blinked a few times trying to get Dean into focus. "Gabriel Novak _is_ my boyfriend."

Dean scrubbed a hand over his face. "Wait a second, wait a second. What? For how long."

Gabriel glared at his fingers trying to count them. "Six months!" He threw his hands up in the air and turned to Sam. "Sammykins, we've almost been together for six months! We should celebrate. We're in love!" He declared before grabbing Sam's face and peppering it with kisses.

"Shit! Gabriel!" Castiel leapt up and pried his older brother away. "You're going to get exposed if you keep up this PDA. It won't end well." Gabriel pouted. "I'm just saying that you should let this play out on your terms, okay?"

Gabe's eyes widened and he nodded obediently at his younger brother hanging on his every word. The door opened and Michael came striding out the door with Rachel tucked into his side. She was beautiful as always with long sleek blonde hair, a modest floor length dress and her head snuggled into the crook of his neck. Michael beamed. "There the two of you are! You've missed it – Balthazar tried to do a back flip off the bar. He nailed it, but he also smacked Crowley's drink out of his hand and made him spill all over himself." He winked at Castiel. "It was brilliant, really."

Castiel and Dean shared a satisfied look and smiled at each other. The Novak turned back to his oldest brother. "Where is Balth anyway?"

Michael rolled his eyes and kissed the top of Rachel's head. "Balth's in the limo out front. Luc is with him. Rach and I are slipping out of here, but I wanted to check in and see if you guys wanted me to order you another car to get these two drunk idiots home." He raised his hand and gestured to Sam and Gabriel who had their arms wrapped tightly around each other and were swaying back and forth.

"We can take my car." Castiel glanced to his side and saw Dean shooting daggers at his brother and Gabriel. "But if you either of you throw up in her, I swear to God I'll kick you straight out of the car."

He turned to Michael. "Dean Winchester by the way." He shook both his and Rachel's hands. "This idiot's older brother." He gestured to Sam with his thumb.

"Michael Novak." The oldest Novak greeted formally. "Nice to meet you." He shot a quick glance at Castiel and then gave Dean a polite smile. "Well, if you wouldn't mind, then that would be lovely. Castiel can go with you and give you directions to their place. We'll meet you there. Please, feel free to crash there with your brother." He locked eyes with Castiel and a knowing smile spread across his lips. "Oh and Cassie." The youngest Novak just cocked an eyebrow at the nickname. "That jacket looks good on you."

He turned away to hide his smile and Cas instantly flushed. The two of them walked away and Dean gave him a reassuring smile. "You really do look good in that jacket." When they locked eyes, he winked causing Castiel to blush an even deeper shade of red.

"Shut up Winchester and help me get our drunk brothers into your car."


End file.
